Sunday, October 13, 2013

1953 Iso Gran Turismo 125

I mentioned in a previous post that I had recently purchased two 1950's Italian bikes. One was a 1952 Aermacchi Cigno. The other one is this 1953 Iso Gran Turismo 125 (type D). Iso SpA. was an Italian company that originally made refrigerators but began manufacturing motor vehicles in the early 1950's. One reason I was really happy to get this bike is because Iso is the company that originally designed the Isetta. Iso manufactured a small number of Italian made Isettas, but the Isetta was built under license in a number of countries including Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The German made BMW Isettas were by far the most successful with 161,728 units sold making it the most successful single cylinder car ever produced. Like the Isetta, I feel the Iso GT 125 is a classic of mid-century Italian design. They were considered expensive bikes in their time, but durable and well built. This one's is going to require a complete restoration, but it's a complete bike in really not that bad condition.